Daniel Sunderland, the new FESPA President, unveils “FESPA Future,” a vision to help the specialty print community thrive beyond survival mode. This initiative, highlighted at FESPA 2025, focuses on investing in member associations, innovation, education, and digital transformation, guided by the strapline “Connect, Inspire, Support.”
It is an honour to be writing this as FESPA President. As a printer myself, I see the important role that FESPA plays within the speciality print community, as well as the support it provides and I am looking toward to continuing this during my term in office.
With over 30 years’ experience in the print industry, I have witnessed how the print landscape has evolved over time, as well as how challenges and trends have impacted its evolution.
An example of this is the Covid-19 pandemic, which had an enormous impact on the FESPA community, the print industry as a whole and the industries it serves, such as retail and hospitality. Since the pandemic, as an industry, we have been experiencing a period of recovery and rebuilding, reviving revenue streams as well as regaining commercial momentum. For most printers they’ve been in survival mode.
FESPA Future
We know that individuals and businesses do not thrive in survival mode, they need a positive vision of the future to sustain their motivation and drive them forward. That’s why, at FESPA, we see now as the ideal time to share our future-facing Corporate vision – FESPA Future.
FESPA Future is a refreshed, confident vision that details how FESPA inspires, connects and supports its community outside of FESPA’s global exhibitions and will lay out how we will continue to proactively contribute to the growth of print businesses, so they’re not only surviving, but thriving!
As part of FESPA Future, at FESPA Global Print Expo 2025 last week we launched our FESPA Future manifesto, which highlights exactly how FESPA is investing in its 37 global member Associations, innovation, educational programmes, youth engagement, digital transformation and more, all to future-proof the industry.
Connect, Inspire, Support.
FESPA’s new strapline ‘Connect, Inspire, Support’ reflects our own values and three key areas where we will help to grow and galvanise our community. By sharing knowledge such as insights, articles on fespa.com and in our online content hubs, we hope to maximise printers’ opportunities by representing new market areas for growth and the latest technologies.
We will also continue to share insights through research such as the Print Census, which I’m delighted is re-launching this year in a more regular format. It will provide printers with insights into the latest trends and challenges, and how they can use them to drive their print business forward.
Collaboration and innovation are key, and by highlighting new opportunities and emerging technologies, we can help print businesses to discover new ways to expand their services and essentially perform at their best. Through standalone events and event features – WrapFest, Personalisation Experience, Sportswear Pro – we showcase these new opportunities and market areas that provide value to our members and demonstrate to them how they can leverage and capitalise on these trends.
We also want to lead by example, which is why achieving the ISO 20121:2012 certification for Sustainable Event Management was so important to us, as it solidifies our commitment to implementing best practices for sustainable development in our own business.
Looking forwards
I am pleased to take the helm at FESPA during the launch of this new vision. We know that the past five years have tested the sector’s resilience, yet businesses in the industry found news ways to grow their business and revenue streams in order to succeed. They truly brought to life the true description of what being a Visionary means.
Together – FESPA and the speciality print industry – we can shape the future of speciality print by embracing new technologies and pushing creative boundaries. I, for one, am excited to see what lies ahead.